Air-valve attachment for traps.



No. 703,855. v Patented July I, I902. c. A. TILLY.

AIR VALVE ATTACHMENT FOB TRAPS.

(Application filed Apr. 2, 1901.)

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' m 0A m2; ////////////4 a I a 2 Ill/l/l/fl WITNESSES:

UNITED "STATES ATENT OT FFICE.

CHARLES A. TILLY, OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK.

AIR-VALVE ATTACHMENTFOR TRAPS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N 0. 703,855, dated July 1, 1902.

Application filed April 2, 1901. Serial No. 54,038. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES ALFRED TILLY, a citizen of the United States, residing at Brooklyn, in the county of Kings and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Air-Valve Attachments for Traps, of which the following is a full and complete specification, such as will enable those skilled in the artto which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to that class of attachments which are mounted. in connection with a water seal used upon or beneath wa ter-basins in the closets of houses, and especially where there are-a number of floors the basins whereof are connected with the same vertical discharge or waste pipe, which attachments in general serve for the purpose of preventing the siphoning of the water seals and the breaking of them by the suction of the waste-pipe; and the object of myinvention is to provide a simple, improved,'cheap, efficient, readily-constructed, and perfectlyoperating device of this character by means of which the least suction upon the water seal by the discharge-pipe will instantly and automatically be checked, itbeing the particular and especial object of my invention to produce a device which can readily be kept clean and free from dust or clogging, which manifestly and from experience is known to be a serious detriment in devices of this character, which are expected to operate intermittently and at the moment required and under no pressure, force, or impulsion other than the suction of the discharge -pipe to which the device must delicately and quickly respond to such full extent as to admit the required amount of air before any effective siphoning action has operated upon the water seal to break the same.

WVith these and other objects in view my invention consists, primarily, of a tubular air-chamber mounted in communication with the pipe immediately between its water seal and the discharge-pipe, and provided at the top thereof with a detachable coupling or sleeve, which secures upon the said tubular chamber a closure plug or block surmounted by a detachable shield, and provided in its sides beneath the said shield witha plurality of diagonally-directed air-inlets and with a intermediate of its ends, the said valve having beneath the same a spring coiled around the valve-stem and the lower end of the cylinder being closed by a screw-cap which operates to close the lower end of the cylinder to form a closely-surrounding bearing for the grooved valve-stem and to adjust the tension of the spring.

In the accompanying drawings, forming partof this specification, in which the sepa- 7.

rate parts of my improvement are designated by the same reference characters ineach of the views, Figure 1 is a sectional view showing separate stories of vertically -arranged compartments of a building and showing a waste pipe extending downwardly therethrough and seals or traps connected therewith and provided with'my improved attachment; and Fig. 2 a central vertical section of the attachment, on an enlarged scale, and showing this connection with the seal or trap.

In the drawings forming part of this specification I have shown a plurality of separate floors a of a building, through the apartments or rooms I) of which there extends the Vertical waste-pipe c, with which there is shown a plurality of branch pipes or water-seal traps cl, such as are used in connection with closetbasins.

In the practice of my invention I connect with the upwardly-directed portion e of the pipe or trap, between the water seal thereof and the discharge-pipe, a vertically-projecting tubef, permanently conpeoted at its lower end with the said curved portion e and exteriorly screw-threaded at the. top to receive thereon a threaded sleeve or coupling g. The said sleeve or coupling 9 projects above the tubef, and in the upper end thereof is secured a plug or block 71, which is annular andapproximately conical in form, so as to be contracted above its base or point of connection ICO with the coupling 9. In the center of the plug or block h is formed .a bore or discharge 2', which extends but partially intothe said plug or blockin vertical direction and opens downwardly. In either side of the contracted portion of the approximately conical plugor block h I form a plurality of diagonal and downwardly-ranging inlets or side ports 7c,

which communicate with the central bore t and connect it to the outer air at the point of commencementof the said inlets 7c. Centrally of the plug or block h and surrounding its bore '5 the under surface of the said plug or block is cut outor enlarged and is tapped or interiorly screw-threaded to receive therein the cylinder m, which is screwed thereint-o. The upper portion of the cylinder misformed with a central vertical bore communicating with the bore 1' of the plug or block and of equal diameter therewith. The lower half or portion of the said cylinder m is formed into a lateral enlarged suction-chamber m which extends downwardly through the lower edge of the said cylinder on. Exteriorly the lower end of the said cylinder is screw-threaded, and secured thereon is an internally-threaded cap 12, centrally headed to permit of ready turning of the same and provided with a*cen tral opening 71 alining with and approximately of the same diameter as the bore of the plug or block and the bore of the upper portion of the cylinder m.

In the center of the cylinder m is mounted an angular valve rod or stem 11 which in virtue of its angular construction is vertically grooved and which fits neatly in the bore of the cylindermand in the central aperture 01 I of the cap 12 in a manner to be vertically movable therein. Intermediate of its ends the said angular or vertical grooved valve stem or rod'n is provided with a valve 0, operating against a valve-seat formed by the roof of the suction-chamber m at the termination of the main or narrow bore of the upper portion of the cylinder m. Upon the lower portion of the angular or vertically grooved valve stem or rod n is mounted a surrounding coiled spring 0 which bears against a valve 0 and against the cap 72 and operates to hold the said valve up against its valve-seat.

Upon the upper portion of the approximately conical plug or block it I detachably secure a semispherical shield 19, surrounding the said plug or block and its air-inlet 7a. This shield may be secured in any suitable manner from the apex of the plug or block it,

. and the advantages resultant from the use of my invention will be manifest to all who are conversant with devices of this character.

The device may readily be placed in position by drawingup a portion of the curved arm or elbow e of the trap and inserting the lower end of the tube f therein and making a wiped joint around the same. The several parts of the device are mounted in position as shown and as hereinbefore described. It will be observed by reference to Fig. 1 that when the passage of the water through the vertical pipe 0 creates a sufficient suction upon the trap d to break the water seal or siphon it the suction will operate through the grooves or peripheral and vertical interstices of the angular valve stem or rod n and withdraw the air from the suction-chamber m thereby operating upon the under surface of the. valve 0 and in conjunction with the pressure of the air entering through theinlets or the valve 0 and through the suction-chamber m and through the central aperture n 'into the cap a into the elbow e, continues until the suction in the passage-pipe ceases or is neutralizedor satisfied by the said influx of air, whereupon the pressure of the air in the suction chamber m operating from the base portion of the cap it and the combined pressure of the expansion of the spring 0 against the under surface of the said valve 0 will more than counterbalance or ofiset the pressure of air upon the said valve through the inlets or ports 70, the bore 1' of the plug or block communicating with the bore of the upper portion of the cylinder m, so that the said valve will close and shutofi the air-pressure. It will be manifest from a consideration of this operation that the most delicate adj ustment of the parts is necessary to be initially effected and constantly maintained in order that the instant and automatic action of the valve may confidently be expected and relied upon in all contingencies and an intermittent but unretarded action of the said valve take effect the moment the suction force which it is proper for the valve to counterbalance is reached.

It is not alone my experience with devices of this general character that it is impossible to expect the majority of them to work after they have been installed a reasonable length of time, and it is for the purpose of producing a device which, so far I am at present advised, must necessarily and according to my experience thus far with it absolutely and constantly will operate without failure in all emergencies that I have devised my present invention.

It can hardly fail to be appreciated from an examination of Fig. 2 of my drawings and of the foregoing specification and particularly the statement of operation that I have produced a device which will operate with almost perfect effectiveness. It will, moreover, further be seen at once that I have produced an invention by means whereof all of the parts may quickly be disconn ected from the main tubular chamberf and themselves be mutually disconnected and each individually cleansed or unclogged of the dirt or foreign matter which inevitably accumulates upon and within devices of this character. There is not in my invention one unnecessary part or one which fails to perform a useful function in the entire combination. The shieldp is detached from the plug or block h, and both are detachable from the coupling g, and consequently from the tube f, from which the said coupling may also be disconnected. The cylinder m may be disconnected from the plug or block h and implements inserted in the bore 01 thereof, and after the said plug or block has been removed from the shield and from the cylinderm implements may also be inserted in the diagonal inlets 7a to unclog the same, even the diagonal direction of these inlets serving to facilitate the cleaning of the device,though in the general operation of the valve mechanism these diagonal inlets allow a more direct access of the air to the upper surface of the valve 0. By moving the cap n, which will readily be unscrewed, the valve and valve-stem may be taken out and the narrow upper bore and also the suction-chamber m of the cylinder may be cleaned out. Even the coupling g subserves in this particular class of devices and in this particular exemplifioation thereof a useful function over any equivalent which may immediately suggest itself, since it makes a revoluble, adjustable, and detachable connection of the whole device to the tubef, so that the parts may be manipulated thereby without undue care or delicate handling to prevent any mutual disconnection of the parts prior to their aggregate removal from the tube f with the consequent and serious result of the cap 71 or the cylinder on becoming unscrewed and dropping into the elbow e and into the water seal or down the passage-pipe c, as might be the case in a difierent arrangement of mechanism and as would undoubtedlyin many instances result during the removal and cleansing of the device by persons not having a central vertical section of the mechanism before them for reference, all of which will be manifest from Fig. 2 of the drawings forming part of this specification. The cap n serves not only to form with the remainder of the cylinder m the suction-chamber m and to make a tight closure for the cylinder and for said chamber other than through the opening 01 around the angular or vertical grooved valve stem or rod 91 but also maintains the spring and valve within the said suction-chamber m enabling their instant removal, as hereinbefore stated, and finally the said cap op erates to adjust to the proper amount of delicate but efiective tension the expansive spring 0 whereby to regulate the action of the valve relatively to the amount of suction force which is considered necessary to exist before requiring the intervention of the valve to let in the proper amount of air and offset or satisfy the suction to prevent the breaking or siphoning of the water seal, as herein set forth.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. An air-valve attachment for water seals comprising a tube adapted to be connected therewith, a plug or block detachably mounted upon the upper end of the said tube and ranging above the same, and having downwardly-directed inlets in the sides thereof, and a central bore with which they communicate, a shield detachably mounted upon the upper end of the said plug or block and projecting downwardly to inclose the said plug or block, a cylinder detachably mounted in the end portion of said plug or block and provided in its upper end with a bore communicating with the bore of the said plug or block and a laterally-enlarged suction-chamber in the lower or main portion thereof, a vertically-grooved valve-stem mounted in the said cylinder and having its upper portion slidable in the bore thereof, and formed intermediate of its ends with a valve operating against the roof of the suction-chamber, an eXpansible spring mountedin the said suction-chamber and surrounding the valve-stem beneath the valve and normally holding it in contact with its seat, and a screw-cap adj ustably mounted upon and incasing the lower end of the cylinder to form a closure for the suction-chamber and adapted to adjust the tension of the spring and formed centrally with an aperture corresponding to the bore of the upper portion of the cylinder and forming a guide or bearing for the vertically-grooved valve-stem.

2. An air-valve attachment for water seals comprising a vertical tube f adapted to be connected therewith and exteriorly screw-threaded upon its upper edge an interiorly-threaded coupling g adjustably mounted upon the said screw-threaded edge,a plug or block 71 screwed into the upper end of the said coupling g and approximately conical in form to be contracted above the same and having downwardly-directed inlets in its contracted portion and a central boretwith which they communicate, said bore extending but partially through the said plug or block, a shield 19 detachably mounted upon the top of the said plug or block and projecting downwardly to inclose the same and protect the inlets, a cylinder m screw-threaded in the lower portion of the plug or block h and provided in its upper end with a central bore communicating with the bore of the said plug or block h and formed with a laterally-enlarged suctionchamber m in the lower or main portion thereof, a vertically-grooved valve-stem mounted in said cylinder and having its upper portion slidable in the bore thereof and formed in termediate of its ends with a valve 0 operating against the roof of the suction-chamber,

an expansible spring 0 mounted in the suction-chamber and surroundingthe valve-stem beneath the valve and normally holding it in contact with its seat, and a screw-cap n adjustably mounted upon and incasing the lower end of the cylinder to form a closure for the suction-chamber and adapted to adjust the tension of the spring and formed centrally with an aperture corresponding to the bore of I0 the upper portion of the cylinder and forming a guide or bearing for the vertically-grooved valve-stem.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my invention I have signed my name, in presence of the subscribing witnesses, this 1st day 15 of April, 1901.

CHAS. A. TILLY. Witnesses:

F. A. STEWART, F. F. TELLER. 

